1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to sports racket grips and more particularly to a device for filling the void between the tennis racket handle and the hand of the user and providing thumb support when the orientation of the tennis racket about the longitudinal axis of the handle is shifted for backhand shots while playing tennis.
These sports grips provide a means of training the strokes a player hits. The purpose of this invention as a training device is to provide more support for the voids in the hand or hands thus providing more power and control stroking the ball.
If the hand of a tennis player rests naturally on the handle of a tennis racket without any compensation, the racket head is slightly oriented toward the sky so that the ball will go up. To put his racket head perpendicular to the ground, the player must make compensation with his hand and arm. Players of the game of tennis utilize several different methods of gripping the racket during play to help compensate for this backhand stroke problem. Players utilize the Eastern Backhand grip, Continental grip or Western Backhand grip or grips in between these which put more of the palm to the left isde of the racket, thereby placing the racket more perpendicular to the ground. The Continental grip can also be used for serves and volleys and some players use the Continental grip for a forehand ground stroke as well as a backhand ground stroke.
A most common forehand grip is referred to as the Eastern forehand grip, which is a bit to the right of a backhand Continental grip placing the palm to the right of the handle. The racket is perpendicular to the court and the hand lies naturally on the handle.
Another solid forehand grip is referred to as the SemiWestern Forehand grip which places the palm a bit more to the right on the handle than the Eastern forehand grip. The racket head is slanted towards the ground in preparation for the ground stroke.
The Western forehand grip is common among modern players and is the grip of the great forehands. The racket strings are facing the court in preparation for this ground stroke.
2. Description of Related Art
There have been numerous attempts to assist players in the gripping of various sports rackets. U.S. Pat. No. 3,817,521 issued to Wright is directed to a thumb-stop on a tennis racket handle to facilitate gripping the racket in proper backhand position and to enable more forcibly striking a tennis ball.
A putting aid is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 3,860,243 invented by Prisco disclosing an elongated member attachable to the shaft of a golf putter to provide a means for securing better control during putting. Bertucci, in U.S. Pat. No. 4,072,311 discloses a device attachable to the handle of a tennis racket to encourage the use of the index finger for applying more power during service, forehand and backhand positions.
A handle trigger grip is disclosed by Pflueger in U.S. Pat. No. 4,402,508, which is designed to improve gripping of the racket. In U.S. Pat. No. 4,599,920, Schmid discloses a hand grip contoured as an insert to fit between the palm of the hand and the grip of the shank of the tool or sports racket to be gripped. Allsop discloses a device for positioning a person's hand on the handle of a tennis racket in U.S. Pat. No. 5,018,734. This device is intended to fit between the thumb and index finger of the user's hand.
Frost, in U.S. Pat. No. 5,180,165 discloses a hand accessory contoured to fit into the web portion of the hand and to extend down into the palm to aid in snugly gripping the handle of a piece of sport equipment or tool.